Tag Archives: jobs

If there’s one thing small business owners are always on the lookout for, it’s talent. Talented employees help them grow and thrive. But simply keeping their eyes peeled isn’t always good enough — often times they have to find creative ways to suss out the best and the brightest.

The Great Recession put many bright individuals on the unemployment line, and once someone’s been out of work for more than six months, it becomes exponentially harder to get back into the workforce. That isn’t stopping small business owners from tapping into that pool of talent, though. In fact, hundreds of entrepreneurs have already signed a letter committing to implement some best practices for recruiting and hiring the long-term unemployed. Continue reading →

Our nation’s smallest businesses—those with 1-49 employees—continue to outpace large businesses in the race to put America back to work. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees created more than half of all new jobs last month, and, from April to May, they boosted the actual number of jobs they generated by 16 percent, according to data released Thursday by Automatic Data Processing, Inc (ADP). Small businesses overall accounted for more than 93 percent of all new jobs last month, while large businesses created just 6.8 percent of new jobs.

These figures underscore the starring role small businesses have in helping lower the unemployment rate, and they’re a reminder that the smallest firms are our country’s primary job creators. These businesses can and will put our economy back on track, but they can’t do it singlehandedly. Legislators must continue pursuing pragmatic economic policies that ensure entrepreneurs have they tools they need to keep rebuilding the economy. We suggest:

Calling on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to issue bank charters that would supply small firms with more credit. The agency has not issued a single charter this year, despite the dismal lending landscape entrepreneurs continue to face: our national opinion polling found 90 percent of small business owners view credit availability as a problem.

Passing the Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act, which would promote small business job creation by providing a 10 percent income tax credit for increased payroll in 2012 while also extending the 100 percent expense deduction for equipment that lowers owners’ after-tax costs.

Extending the Production Tax Credit for wind project development, as it supports 37,000 jobs that would be at risk if the credit expires. Not only would extending this credit protect existing jobs, small business owners also indicate it could help generate new jobs: 7 in 10 small business owners believe government investments in clean energy play an important role in boosting the economy and creating jobs now.

With ADP’s latest data highlighting small businesses as invaluable assets to the economy, it’s clear we must support them with pragmatic solutions that address their greatest concerns. We encourage lawmakers to pursue robust policies such as those listed above, as failing to do so would only hamper our fiscal recovery.

ADP released data Wednesday revealing our nation’s smallest businesses—those with 1-49 employees—continue to outperform large businesses in the job creation arena. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees created roughly half of all new jobs in April, while small businesses overall accounted for a sweeping 96.7 percent of all new jobs last month. Conversely, large businesses created a mere 3.3 percent of new jobs.

These figures reinforce the notion that small businesses—and particularly those with fewer than 50 employees—are indeed the country’s primary job creators and remain the backbone of the American economy. Of the 119,000 new jobs created last month, the smallest businesses created 58,000, while those with 50-499 employees were responsible for another 57,000, according to ADP (Automatic Data Processing, Inc.). Only 4,000 jobs were generated by businesses with more than 500 employees in April.

We encourage lawmakers to continue focusing on policies conducive to small business job creation, such as investments in renewable energy, which 71 percent of small business owners believe would help create jobs immediately according to research we released last week. Boosting small firms’ access to credit is another surefire way to keep the momentum going. Small businesses can and will put our economy back on track, but they can’t do it singlehandedly. Legislators must continue pursuing pragmatic economic policies that can ensure entrepreneurs have they tools they need to keep rebuilding the economy.

Featured Article

When John Arensmeyer owned a high-tech company, he didn't feel that the organizations that lobbied on behalf of small business really represented him — or many other business owners.

""They put forth a monolithic view of what small business wants," says Arensmeyer. "I felt they were overly partisan and overly ideological and didn't really look pragmatically at what small businesses need. So I felt there was an opportunity and a need for a new voice."